I was watching American Eats on The History Channel this morning. The topic was barbeques. Now, I know all about the rivalry between Memphis and Kansas City barbeque (I’ve even indulged in Gates barbeque sauce thanks to my brother), but I had no idea that barbeque actually comes from the Carolinas or the contributions of Eastern European immigrants to Texas barbeque.

I find this kind of thing absolutely fascinating. It’s yet another example of how immigration led to the richness of American culture, and also an example of the great regionalization of that culture.

Here in Wisconsin, we don’t have “barbeques” in the backyard. We “grill out”. And, grilling out generally means burgers and brats. “Barbeques” mean Sloppy Joes or something we get at a restaurant. On one hand, I feel like we’re missing out on an awesome cultural phenomenon, on the other hand, the rest of the country doesn’t have real brats, so we’re probably even.

I know that we have readers and contributors who are quite familiar with barbeques, so this is as good of a place as any to determine who has the best bbq.